Owls in the Night
by Meridianpony
Summary: A mysterious figure had been showing up again and again in Central City- a figure with two glowing orange eyes, knives with owls carved into them, and armor covering it's body. Wally couldn't help but be curious. He was determined to find out who the figure was... even if it was the last thing he did. Court of Owls AU, might expand on this further after Luthor's Assassin is done
1. Chapter 1

The first time Wally saw the figure, it was from a long ways away, and it was late at night. The only thing he could make out was a dim form, and it was only because he had his goggles on that he saw the faint outline at all. It was perched on the top of an apartment building, surveying the city.

Wally puzzled over the figure for a second, wondering who it was and why it was up there, but before he could even consider investigating he recieved a call from his mentor to come and help put a stop to one of Mirror Master's crazy schemes. He glanced at the apartment building once more, but the figure wasn't there anymore.

Had he imagined it?

But he couldn't spend any more time puzzling over a shadowy figure- Kid Flash was needed. He pushed his curiosity aside.

He had more important things to worry about than a distant figure on a rooftop in Central City.

**_Line Break_**

The second time Wally saw him, it was a _lot _closer up.

He was on patrol (as Kid Flash, of course) and heard someone scream. It was about 10 at night, and Wally had been about to call it a day (he had a huge test the next morning), but he wasn't about to let someone get hurt because he wanted to get some extra sleep.

It only took him 4.4 seconds to dash across the eleven blocks between him and the source of the noise. Flash could have done it in 2.7, but Wally was still pretty pleased with himself.

A young women, probably in her early twenties, was standing on the sidewalk under a streetlamp, her eyes wide and her body trembling. Wally ran straight up to her, looking around for the trouble- but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

That was odd. Normally 4.4 seconds was easily enough time for Wally to get there before the criminal could escape.

He skidded to a stop in front of the women.

"What happened? Are you alright, ma'am?" he asked respectfully, as his uncle Barry had taught him. She nodded, and bent down to pick up her purse. Until that point, Wally hadn't even noticed it was there. The strap had been slashed in two.

"I was just walking down the street when this figure attacked me! It had a knife, so I screamed... I thought it was going to kill me, but all it did was cut my purse strap. And then it didn't even take the purse, it just grabbed my wallet, took my cash, dropped the purse, and _ran!"_

She sounded confused, but relieved. Wally frowned- that was odd. The thief had taken the time to simply grab cash _and _had managed to get out of sight before a speedster got there? That was almost impossible!

"Which way did he go?" he said hurriedly, and she pointed down the road. Wally didn't wait to hear her reply, he sped away.

Zipping down the street, he saw a shadow whip around a corner- a small, lithe figure cloaked in darkness. Wally followed as fast as he could, and found himself in a dark alleyway- a dark, _empty _alleyway.

Okay... something was going on. He took a cautious step forward, ready to bolt should something fly out of the shadows to attack him. Nothing did, and Wally found himself frowning in confusion... he could've sworn he saw something come in this alleyway! He _really_ needed more sleep if it had gotten to the point that he was imagining things...

But just as he was about to leave, a sudden clattering noise from above made him tilt his head back and look skyward.

The figure was scaling the fire escape with incredible efficiency, jumping two, even _three_ floors up at a time! Flipping and rotating, and basically using the fire escape as a jungle gym, it got to the top of the building, and Wally saw a flash of green clenched tightly in it's hand.

"Hey!" he yelled, because the figure had stolen that money, and Wally wasn't about to let him get away with that without at least trying to slow him down. To his surprise, the figure actually _did _turn in response to his shout.

Glowing orange eyes peered down at him through the darkness, and chilled Wally to the bone. The figure seemed to be glaring at him, and then it raised a hand- a knife soared down from above. Wally darted aside automatically, but there had been no need too. It stuck in the ground a good seven inches from where his foot had been even before he moved. The figure hadn't been trying to injure him, the knife had merely been a distraction!

When he looked up again, the figure was gone. Wally picked up the knife and inspected it the best he could in the darkness, running his fingers over the hilt- there was a design in it, but he couldn't quite tell what.

He headed back to the street and stood under a lamp-post. On the handle, expertly carved, was an owl, with its wings spread wide and it's talons outstretched. Wally spent another minute studying the design before he tucked the blade away and returned home.

His curiosity was officially piqued. There was something... different about this thief. And no, it wasn't the orange eyes...

The next morning, his uncle Barry asked him how patrol had gone- and something told Wally not to speak of the shadowy figure and the knife. He couldn't tell why, he couldn't explain it. It just felt... wrong to tell anyone else about it.

So he didn't.

**A/N: I really love the Court of Owls storyline... In fact I was reading the Batman: Night of the Owls story arc the other day and this just appeared in my head. If I hadn't written it down, I would have forgotten it. Anyway, does it interest anyone? I might expand on it a lot more after I finish Luthor's Assassin. In fact, it might be my next big project if you guys like it enough. In case you couldn't tell, Court of Owls AU. And I'm not revealing anything about who the shadowy figure is if you don't know... nor am I answering any _other _questions about the timeline or why the figure is stealing stuff... except I will say the figure's eyes aren't really orange. Y'all just better hope I don't forget the storyline I have planned out while I work on Luthor's Assassin! :) So, let me know if you'd like to read more!**


	2. Chapter 2

Wally was completely caught off guard the next time he encountered the strange figure.

He and his Uncle Barry were on patrol as usual, and a sudden explosion had them both dashing towards the source of the sound. They arrived just in time to see a group of thugs racing out of the Central City bank, bags of money clutched in their hands.

"Let's go, Kid!" Flash shouted, streaking ahead. Wally felt a surge of pride as he followed his uncle, zipping towards the thieves.

There were five men total, and Wally plucked the sacks of money out of their hands before they even had the chance to blink, and deposited them back into the safe. By the time he returned, two men were already on the ground, unconscious, and he watched as his uncle decked the third crook, sending him skidding across the sidewalk.

The fourth and fifth men were making a run for it, and Wally yelled blur of words at his uncle: "I'llgetthemuncleBarrydon'tworryaboutitI'llberightbackyoushouldprobablytiethoseguysupawesomeseeyalater!" before racing off after them. His Uncle didn't follow him or make any move to stop him, and it made Wally grin in happiness.

Uncle Barry _trusted _him.

He entertained himself for a split second by rushing ahead of the thugs and standing directly in their way. They froze in horror, staring at him, before the first one relaxed a bit.

"Aw, it ain't the Flash," he growled. "It's just the Baby Flash. What are you gonna do, boy?

Wally just grinned at him, carefully concealing his anger. _That_ had been a mistake.

He darted forwards and knocked the guy's legs out from under him easily, then grabbed him by the arm. Using his speed, he began whirling the poor man around in the air, and then he let go. The man went flying, and as he smashed into a wall, money burst everywhere- it looked like he had hidden one of the bags underneath his coat jacket before the two speedsters had intervened. Wally scowled at his motionless form.

The final man was running again, in the opposite direction, and Wally sighed, shaking his head.

"You guys never learn, do you," he said, tackling the fleeing thief and knocking him out with a swift punch to the chin.

He grinned in success, looking down at the unconscious man on the cement by his feet. He couldn't help but feel proud- Uncle Barry had trusted him to do this alone, and he'd succeeded!

A sudden clatter of coins behind him, however, made him whip around.

For a moment, he thought that the thief had woken up and was trying to gather up the money on the ground- but then he realized that the figure crouched in front of him was too small, too lithe... and besides, the man's unconscious form was still sprawled out on the ground near the wall.

The figure's head snapped up, too... and Wally gasped in surprise.

It was the boy. The thief from earlier, that had somehow been stealthy enough to avoid him, the one that had thrown the owl knife at him.

The one with the glowing orange eyes.

And he was standing right there, barely nine feet away from where Wally was right now.

Wally let his eyes take in all the details at superspeed, before the thief could react. Somehow he knew that the thief was going to race away the second he noticed Wally had caught him, and he was right- he could see the figure moving, although it looked extremely slow with Wally using his superspeed.

Now that he was closer, he could see that the mysterious figure wasn't some strange, creepy demon. It was a kid- a boy, who looked barely eleven years old. He could see messy, ebony hair on the boy's head, and glimpses of olive-toned skin.

His eyes weren't really orange, either- instead, they were covered by a pair of orange-tinted goggles. Scraps of black cloth clung to the eyepieces, and it seemed like the goggles had once been part of something larger, like a facemask of some sort.

His outfit was black, too- black to match the shadows. He looked almost like a ninja. Dark black gauntlets covered his hands and forearms, and Wally could see deep scratches and dents in both of them. A belt of knives was slung across his chest, each with the same owl design that Wally recognized from before. The boy was very small and skinny, but as Wally allowed himself to slow down, he could see the fluid motions he made as he flipped over Wally's head and disappeared into the shadows above.

He was in too much shock to attempt to follow him.

What had the boy even been doing, anyway?

Wally glanced down at the bills and coins scattered on the ground, and realized with a jolt that a chunk of it was now gone.

_Crap._

**___Line Break_  
**

The fourth time he saw him... well, their exchange was a lot different.

He was walking to a convenience store to pick up some cough drops (his mom had gotten a terrible cough earlier that day) in the late afternoon, in his civilian clothes. Luckily they were only a couple blocks away from the store, and it wasn't that bad of a walk. He was about halfway there, and passing a dark alley, when he spotted it- a streak of blood on the sidewalk, headed towards the alley.

He was_ Kid Flash, _of course he had to go check it out.

As he inched down the alley, he heard someone groan up ahead, and quickened his pace. He didn't run (he was still in his civvies), but at the very back of the alley he found him.

The little thief. The boy who could blend into shadows. The one with the owl knives.

With a gaping hole in his side.

Wally gasped and leaped forwards without hesitation, kneeling besides the fallen boy and pressing his hands to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. It felt sticky and hot under his fingers, and he pressed down harder. A terrible sound was torn out of the boy's throat, and Wally winced- how on earth was he still conscious? Or even _alive?_

He needed to get help... and fast.

Wally pressed against the wound harder, willing the blood to stop flowing. It was a silly idea, and he knew it, but for a moment it almost seemed to be working... it seemed like the bloodflow was slowing. Then Wally shook his head- of course it wasn't! They needed to get to a hospital, as fast as possible!

Wally made up his mind. He scooped the boy up and was about to zip away when suddenly the boy thrashed in his arms. Wally was knocked off balance, and they both tumbled to the ground. He winced as he heard a thud next to him and scrambled up, ready to try again, but before he could, orange-tinted eyes met his own, and somehow Wally got the feeling that he was being glared at.

He could see more crimson liquid running down the boy's side, and persisted, trying to get closer.

"Please, you're hurt," Wally growled, slightly desperate as the boy shoved him away angrily. "You need help!" The boy only shook his head, and backed away even more. Wally wanted to scream- he would_ die _from that wound without help!

Suddenly, the boy stiffened, and threw his head back. Wally saw his face twist into a grimace, and his small back arched upwards. Wally gasped in horror, but as soon as it had begun, it stopped, and the boy was completely still.

"Hey," he said, cautiously moving forwards again. "Hey, what was..."

He trailed off in shock.

The gaping wound in the boy's side was gone.

It had completely disappeared.

Wally felt his mouth drop open.

"Wha... wha- _what_?"

The boy didn't answer him, and climbed to his feet. His covered eyes stared into Wally's, and then the boy leaped into the air. He grabbed the edge of a fire escape and flipped up to the top of the building.

He didn't look back, and disappeared.

Wally slowly stood from where he was kneeling in the middle of the dark alley. If it wasn't for the puddle of blood at his feet, Wally wouldn't have believed that the encounter had even happened!

Something was odd about that boy... the tiny owl thief. Was he a meta? Did he have superpowers? Why did he steal money from people?

Wally was determined to figure out the mystery.

**A/N: Yeah, I know these chapters are short. I'm doing it on purpose.**

**I'm actually really excited for this story, even though updates are going to be SUPER slow until I have Luthor's Assassin finished. That story is my main priority. But anyway... yeah, I updated this one! Happy late thanksgiving, Y'all!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Guess who's back? Yep, I'm alive! And it feels good to be back! Sorry for the long wait, I hope people are still interested in this stuff!**

**Uh... I'd recommend going back and reading the previous two chapters before you read this? It's been a while since I updated, after all...**

* * *

Wally almost fell off of the building in shock when he looked to his left and saw the owl boy standing next to him.

Arms pinwheeling frantically, he managed to catch himself just in time, and blinked once, twice, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

Owl Boy was still there, the orange-tinted goggles covering his eyes and the belt of knives still slung around his chest. Wally gaped at him for a long moment, speechless.

"I—but you—"

Owl Boy stared at him silently as Wally scrambled for something to say, _anything, _to try and convince him to stay.

"Y—you!" Wally finally exclaimed pathetically, pointing his gloved finger into the boy's face. The second he did so, he wanted to slap himself—he wanted to talk to the boy, not scare him away! Wally had spent the past few weeks wondering, theorizing, and desperately trying to find this kid, and he wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste.

Wally still didn't know why he was so interested in the boy—well, actually, he did: he had watched as the boy's gaping wound had healed almost instantaneously, and that would make anyone curious, especially someone like Wally, who had all but dedicated his life to science. And the knife... the one with the owl emblazoned onto the hilt that Wally still had hidden underneath a floorboard in his room... there was just something _mysterious _about it.

And Wally had always loved mysteries.

The Owl Boy didn't seem to impressed with Wally's response to his arrival, tilting his head just a little bit, but otherwise not moving.

Wally breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he had been holding. Good, he hadn't scared the boy away.

"Um..." he said intelligently, "Hi?"

Owl Boy still stared at him, and Wally felt a bit intimidated by his unrelenting gaze. Behind the orange-tinted goggles he could still make out the boy's eyes, narrowed at him as if he were being analyzed.

Suddenly, Wally was struck by the sudden feeling that this boy could kill him, if he really wanted to. It made his body vibrate a little, but he stubbornly held his ground.

"Uh," he said again, "Who are you?"

The boy shrugged, and Wally frowned.

"You don't know?"

The boy frowned and shook his head, and then waved his hand in the air in a dismissing motion.

"But you don't care?" Wally said, eyes widening, and the boy sent a small puff of air out of his nose in exasperation, shaking his head again as if Wally wasn't getting it. Wally blinked.

"Wait—you do know who you are?"

The boy nodded.

"But you aren't going to tell me."

The boy gave a single, curt nod, and Wally resisted the urge to groan.

He was contemplating how to continue their essentially one-sided conversation (Perhaps: _So, I saw you steal money from a lady one time, _or maybe, _out of all the animals you could have picked, why the owl?_), but before he could speak, the boy took a step forwards.

It was instinct to take a step back—after all, he had seen how good of a shot this kid was with a dagger—but all the boy did was put two hands on his own side, giving Wally a meaningful look.

Wally lifted an eyebrow.

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

The boy scowled at him and repeated the movement, clasping both hands against his side before pointing to Wally.

The speedster squinted at the boy in confusion, copying the movement slowly and pointing to himself again in an effort to understand.

Suddenly, an image flashed in front of his eyes—the boy had been bleeding out from a massive hole in his side, before it had been miraculously healed, and civilian Wally had tried to take him to the hospital—

Wait.

Wally was Kid Flash right now. He hadn't been in uniform when he had tried to help the boy—

He_ knew._

Wally would attempt to deny it, but something in the boy's body language—the way he was standing, the way his eyes were narrowed, so certain and accusing—there wasn't any way Wally could convince the kid otherwise.

Wally bolted backwards, but before he could move any further, the boy put his hands out in a placating gesture, and behind the goggles his eyes were wide and honest. Wally narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously.

"You aren't going to...?"

The boy shook his head.

"Why not?"

The boy made the same little huffing nose that he had made before, blowing air through his nose, and shrugged again.

Wally gritted his teeth together. That wasn't very promising, but the boy was lowering his arms again and staring at him solemnly, as if to say, "Your secret is safe with me".

Wally wasn't too sure if he believed him or not, but the only thing he could do at this point was to trust the boy. He wasn't comfortable with it, not by a _long _shot, but it wasn't like he had any other choice.

With a sigh, he sat down on the edge of the building and dangled his legs over the street below. It wasn't that tall of a building, but it rose above most of the others in Central City, and Wally liked to come here after a long patrol to watch the sunset. Being Kid Flash was stressful, much more so than most people would believe, and the awe-inspiring colors comforted him sometimes.

He knew he was taking a big risk, since the boy was still armed with multiple daggers and _who knew what else _in the black bodysuit, but for some reason Kid Flash didn't feel like the boy was going to stab him.

He was proven correct when, instead of attacking him or simply disappearing without a trace again, the boy sat down silently as well, several feet to his right.

It was quiet for a long time—_way too long_, especially in Wally's speedster mind. He had never been good with long periods of silence.

"So, uh, are you a new bad guy in town, and is this hero-villain bonding hour or something? Did I miss a memo this morning?"

The boy's head snapped around to look at him, orange-tinted eyes wide in surprise. Wally froze for a moment, wondering if he had gone too far, but then the boy threw his head back and snorted, a tiny grin playing along his lips.

Wally smiled cautiously back. He was still uncertain if this was a good idea. After all, he _had _seen the boy steal money—however, he hadn't hurt anyone yet that Wally knew of.

It was time to press for answers a little harder.

"Listen, uh, owl boy, why are you here? You know what my secret identity is—," Wally frowned, "Or, at least, what I look like, anyway, so why aren't you selling me out already?" He blinked suddenly, and quickly added, "Not that I want you to do that, but seriously, what's your deal?"

The boy shrugged. Wally was getting a bit frustrated with his non verbal answers, but he kept his cool, letting his glance sweep over his body again. He was lean and muscular, but on a closer look Wally was surprised to see that he was dangerously skinny—malnourished, possibly?

The thought didn't sit well with Wally at all. He couldn't even imagine the horrors that would go along with not having any food. And even if he was wrong, well... it never hurt to share. He opened one of his tiny "cabinets", as he had dubbed them, and pulled two energy bars from the pouch.

"Want one?" he asked casually, extending it out to the boy. His silent companion studied the offering for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face, before he reached out slowly and accepted it. Wally silently cheered as the boy unwrapped it and took a bite.

It fell silent again, and Wally shifted uncomfortably.

Suddenly, he realized that the sun had gotten much lower than he had realized, and glanced at his clock nervously. It was 7:42—his parents would be expecting him home soon.

"Ah—sorry, I have to go. Are you..." he didn't even know why he was asking this, but... "Are you gonna be alright?"

The boy cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say, _"Look who you're talking to." _Wally held his hands out in a placating gesture.

"Alright, alright," he said, turning to leave.

Something still didn't feel right. He had a gut feeling... and when he had a gut feeling, it was usually right. Some things didn't add up, either—why would a boy like that approach a superhero so easily? Did he want to be caught? Why did he refuse to speak?

Wally had finally gotten a chance to talk to the most recent obsession of his thoughts, but it had only left him with more questions than answers.

"Hey," Wally said, turning back around to face the boy again. "If you ever feel like it... I come here often at this time. You're welcome to join me..."

_Stupid, stupid! _his mind was screaming at him. _He could still be the enemy, why are you telling him your habits?_

Wally ignored his mind and flashed a toothy grin at the boy before zipping down the steps of the building. It took a few seconds, but he made it to the ground floor and popped out the door, immediately casting his gaze on the roof of the building above him.

The boy was already gone, but Wally had expected that.

* * *

**okay, okay, yeah, so not much happened. Meh. Not every chapter can be exciting. Also I'm trying to get back into the swing of things in the fanfiction world, so bear with me a bit. I _had _to post _something, _otherwise I might have just kept putting it off. Sorry! But now that I have posted something, I should feel more inspired to work more on it!**

**This story is my new project! It definitely won't be as long as Luthor's Assassin but I hope you guys enjoy it just as much! I promise more action and exciting things are coming, along with longer chapters!**

**Thanks for your reviews, and see you guys next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Wally tried to hide his disappointment when the boy didn't show up on the roof of the building the next day. He did his best to attempt to watch the sunset, but he couldn't focus on the color scheme with the swirling blend of emotions that were suddenly rising inside him.

_It was a mistake to invite him. What if he was scared off? What if he left for good?_

He couldn't focus, jittery nerves making him shake and vibrate everywhere he went. The team noticed that something was off later that night when Wally showed up for their training with Black Canary—especially when they noticed his lack of flirting with their blond teacher.

"Is everything alright, Wally?" M'gann asked him kindly, turning away from Connor. "You just seem really jumpy today."

Wally blinked at her, and ignored Artemis's scoff in the background.

"I'm good, Miss M," he answered, grinning at her half-heartedly. "I just didn't have that great of a day at school, that's all."

She smiled at him in sympathy.

"Would some cookies help?"

Wally jumped in excitement—he had been getting pretty hungry, after all.

"You bet, beautiful! Lead the way!"

He wondered if that was the last he would ever see of the mysterious owl boy again. Maybe it was a good thing, if just not seeing him for a day was destroying his concentration like this.

It was probably for the best.

* * *

He went to the roof the next day anyway, and found the boy waiting for him, sitting in the exact same position that he had been in last time Wally had seen him. Wally had honestly not expected him to be there, so his surprised shriek (It was a _manly _shriek!) was perfectly justified.

The boy's lips curled upwards in a tiny grin as Wally spluttered, struggling to find words.

"What are you doing?" he finally gasped out, scowling at the boy's face. "Stop laughing!"

The boy shook his head and rolled his eyes. Wally peered at him for a few seconds before sucking in a quick breath of air.

The boy didn't have his goggles on.

Wally was amazed that he hadn't noticed earlier—The orange tinted equipment that he had grown so used to remembering were lifted, perched on top of the boy's head instead of in their usual spot over his eyes.

His eyes were blue, Wally could finally see. And they were full of all the mirth and mischief that he had expected them to be.

He didn't comment on the change, however. He still didn't want to risk scaring the boy off.

"So, how was your day?" Wally asked, already reaching for his cabinet and pulling out a small bag of chips. He wasn't expecting an answer, and he didn't get one, so he settled for tossing a chip at his silent companion. "Mine was okay, I guess. My science teacher assigned us way too much homework, not that it's that much of a problem for me. I'm pretty good at science. Oh, but don't get me started on my math teacher..."

Wally did what he did best—he talked. The boy clearly didn't want to, or couldn't, and Wally wasn't about to pressure him into doing something he didn't want to. So he shared his chips and ran his mouth, and they sat in semi-comfortableness as the sun set below the horizon before them.

* * *

Some days, the boy showed up. Some days, he did not. That was alright with Wally. He wasn't there sometimes, either, because of team missions and training, so he supposed that made it fair.

On days where they both showed up, they fell into a routine—Wally would talk, and sometimes share food. A few times Wally would bring a card game, too. He talked until his mouth ran dry or until the sun disappeared, and then he would leave, shooting down the steps to try and catch a quick glimpse of the boy before he vanished.

He was never successful.

The boy himself was still a mystery. He still refused to say a word, although his facial expressions grew more and more elaborate each time Wally saw him. And there were still lines that Wally wasn't quite willing to cross—they always stayed a few feet away from each other, as if the space between them was a physical separation that could not be breached. Wally wasn't sure if that was ever going to change, but he wasn't going to risk it.

Once, Wally brought up Gotham City during one of their meetings (the team had completed a mission their earlier that day, with Batman's glaring eyes on them the entire time), and watched as the boy's entire body froze, every muscle seizing up at the name.

Wally's eyes widened at the reaction.

"Um..." he began cautiously, and then took a step backwards when the boy rose from his position, suddenly turning a fierce glower towards him.

Wally gulped. Okay, so Gotham City was a topic to stay away from. Message received, loud and clear.

"Sorry," he apologized nervously. He didn't ask for an explanation, and the boy's expression faded into something different, that Wally had seen many times when the boy was staring at the sunset—

Deep sadness, and regret. His bright blue eyes were haunted by shadows and a past that Wally almost didn't want to know about.

"Hey," Wally said. "My bad, man. So, did you hear about that robbery Captain Boomerang tried to pull off today? I almost laughed my butt off when I heard..."

The boy sat down as Wally successfully changed the subject, but Wally could still see the tenseness running through his muscles—the boy didn't fully relax for the rest of that day.

Wally decided not to bring up Gotham City again.

* * *

"So," Wally began, plopping down into his spot and waving at the boy lazily in greeting, "I've got a question for you."

It had been almost a month since their interactions had first started, and they still mostly consisted of Wally talking. He was okay with that, but he was sick of referring to the boy as "_the boy_". It was kind of lame.

"Do you, uh, have a name that I could call you? It doesn't have to be your real one, just... something so that I..."

He trailed off, suddenly anxious that the boy wouldn't react well to his probing, but the boy only cocked his head to the side and stared at Wally for a moment, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Ah, you don't actually have to tell me if you don't want to!" Wally yelped hurriedly. "It's just that—"

The boy waved a hand at him, and Wally closed his mouth.

After a long moment, the boy nodded, and Wally smashed the excitement down in his chest before any of it could make it onto his face.

Then he reached for the belt slung across his chest and pulled out a knife.

Wally's heart stuttered in his chest, and he froze, forcing himself not to move an inch. The boy spotted his sudden nervousness and rolled his eyes, flipping the knife around so that the blade was facing towards his own chest and away from Wally. He pointed at the hilt, and Wally leaned forwards.

He knew this knife well—it was the same design as the one he had in his room, from one of his earlier meetings with the boy. There was an owl carved onto the metal was in mid flight, wings stretched wide over the hilt and claws extended. It kind of looked like it would hurt if held, but the boy handled it with practiced ease, fingers slotted perfectly among the sharp edges.

Wally stared at it blankly for a moment, until the boy jabbed a finger at the owl design and Wally remembered what they were doing.

"Oh," he said. "You want me to call you Owl?"

The boy made a face, and pointed again, this time running a finger across the owl's feet.

"Claws, then?" Wally tried, grinning. "Nice, that's much cooler than Owl."

The boy scowled and ran a finger over the claws again, and sudden Wally realized what it was.

"Talons," he breathed, and the boy nodded once. "Your name is Talon."

Talon didn't react to his name except to nod, and Wally winced when he saw the familiar darkness brewing in his eyes. This name was riding on dim, dangerous memories, and Wally wasn't so sure it was wise to encourage them.

"Is... is that okay?" he asked tentatively, but Talon snapped back to attention, waving a hand and flashing Wally a small smile.

"Alright," Wally said carefully, lifting a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Talon." He held his hand out in silent offering, and grinned when Talon accepted the invitation, shaking his hand. He had a strong grip, for such small hands.

Wally had the feeling that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

**If you know who the Court of Owls are and what they do, I can imagine you have some idea of what's going on. I'm still keeping some secrets from you, though, so be careful! Things aren't always what they seem!**

**If you don't know who the Court of Owls are... well, you will soon! Be patient with me! I know stuff is still boring right now but I can't just jump straight into the action (even though I wish I could, because I'm terrible at dialogue...)! Wait just a little longer! Updates are coming! I had today off of school, which is why this chapter is up so quickly :)**

**By the way, yes, the team and Batman still exist. Superboy was still rescued from CADMUS. Nevermind the details. This story isn't really about them, anyway, although they will play a big part a bit later on.**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews! You guys are the best, and it was nice to see some familiar usernames along with the new ones! Glad you guys are still enjoying my stuff!**


End file.
